The First Hour - rpghttp://firsthour.net/taxonomy/term/9/0
enNi no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witchhttp://firsthour.net/first-hour-review/ni-no-kuni-wrath-of-the-white-witch
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<p style="text-align: center;"><img src="/screenshots/ni-no-kuni/ni-no-kuni-banner.jpg" alt="ni no Kuni Banner" title="ni no Kuni Banner" height="200" width="800" /></p>
<p>When I first heard that Level-5 and Studio Ghibli were teaming up to
make a JRPG in all sense of the acronym, I thought the following: wow,
so awesome, but never gonna reach the States. But here I am, covering
the first hour of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ni_no_Kuni"><strong>Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch</strong></a>. Call me
surprised, call me ecstatic.</p>
<p>To start, I am a huge fan of what both companies produce, ever since
seeing Studio Ghibli’s <strong>Kiki’s Delivery Service</strong>, <strong>Howl’s Moving Castle</strong>,
and <strong>Spirited Away</strong> (still haven’t seen <strong>Ponyo</strong> or <strong>Arrietty</strong> yet, wah) and
losing myself in the wonder that is Miyazaki’s limitless imagination. On
the flipside, Level-5 has been in my life for many years now, giving me
fantastic timesinks like <strong>Dark Cloud 2</strong>, <strong>Dragon Quest VIII</strong>, <a href="/first-hour-review/rogue-galaxy"><strong>Rogue Galaxy</strong></a>
(yes, I enjoyed Rogue Galaxy, so back off), and more recently the <strong>
Professor Layton</strong> puzzle games. Level-5 is great at stuffing games with
things to do, and Studio Ghibli’s strength is in telling a story where
rules do not apply, and together it seems like they could create
something powerfully wonderful. Maybe even take over the world. <a href="http://grindingdown.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/champing-at-the-bit-to-play-level-5s-ni-no-kuni/">I love
what these companies do <em>so much</em> that I purposely went out and bought a
PlayStation 3 to play <strong>Ni no Kuni</strong>.</a></p>
<p>With that heavy bias out of the way now, let’s see what I think of their joint concoction.</p>
<h2>Minute by Minute</h2>
<p><span class="minute-counter">00</span> – Technically, before I can begin playing <strong>Ni no Kuni</strong>, I have to sit through ten minutes of “language selection” data installation for the PlayStation 3. After that’s run its course, I select NEW GAME, choose the NORMAL difficulty setting, and drop right into a stunning cutscene of a young boy and a strange critter being run down by a herd of bizarre beasts. They are unharmed, and as they come to the top of a hill overlooking a boundless landscape, the little boy says, “So, this is your world?”</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">01</span> – The game’s somewhat leggy title then takes over the screen, and we’re given the credits up front, first for Studio Ghibli and then for Level-5. Events and characters to come are forecast behind all the names.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">03</span> – We’re now in a little town called Motorville. It immediately reminds me of <strong>Howl’s Moving Castle</strong>, which is not a bad thing to be reminded of. Oliver, the young boy from the intro scene, is picking up groceries from Leila’s Milk Bar. Once outside, his friend Phil beckons to him eagerly from down the street.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/ni-no-kuni/ni-no-kuni-oliver-motorville.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/ni-no-kuni/ni-no-kuni-oliver-motorville-thumb.jpg" alt="ni no Kuni Oliver Motorville" title="ni no Kuni Oliver Motorville" class="image" height="450" width="800" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">04</span> – That in-game cutscene dissipates seamlessly. In control of Oliver now, but instead of running right over to Phil, I take my time and explore what I can of the small street. It really does feel like you are inside a Studio Ghibli film, with fluid animations and a fantastic sense of color everywhere. There are several locals to chat with. Seems like Phil and Oliver are planning to take something out for a test drive tonight; my bet is it’s a car. However, the curtain is pulled back a bit, and it’s revealed that Oliver is being watched from elsewhere, with some mysterious and grim-voiced woman deeming him “the boy who will save the world.” She doesn’t sound too happy about that.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">08</span> – New task—head home to Ma!</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">10</span> – Again, when given the chance to explore, <em>I will explore</em>. Sorry, Ma. This section of Motorville is not huge, but there’s enough side streets and wandering locals to speak with to keep me looking. However, due to the nature of hand-drawn art for set pieces, a few camera angles are the kind of awkward where you can’t even see Oliver anymore. Back at home, Ma makes Oliver some breakfast—eggs and bacon!—and he tries to be smooth and see what she’s up to tonight since he has to sneak out later.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">12</span> – Fast-forward to nighttime! The game lets me know with a pop-up message and chipper chime that I can now use the MAIN MENU option. Oh sweet.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">13</span> – Right. It’s night, Mom’s asleep, and Oliver is off to sneak over to Phil’s garage. This is really just a short run around the corner.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">15</span> – I was right. Phil and Oliver have been working on a race car of their own, and it seems like every nut and bolt is finally in place, ready for a moonlit excursion. Before they can drive it, Oliver must check that the coast is clear and the streets are empty of big folks. Phil also warns him to watch out for Starey Mary, a young girl who is constantly spying on him from her upstairs window across the street.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/ni-no-kuni/ni-no-kuni-oliver-castle-windmill.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/ni-no-kuni/ni-no-kuni-oliver-castle-windmill-thumb.jpg" alt="ni no Kuni Oliver Castle Windmill" title="ni no Kuni Oliver Castle Windmill" class="image" height="450" width="800" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">17</span> – While checking to see if all is clear, Oliver runs into a mysterious green-haired girl who is dressed oddly. She says some ominous words like “don’t do it,” but then Phil shows up, and the girl disappears, making Oliver seem like a total loon.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">18</span> – However, that woman watching him—who I have to assume is the White Witch, but her birdy cohort calls Your Radiance—places a curse on the car from afar. That’s…not good.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">19</span> –Suddenly, back at home, Mom wakes up and discovers Oliver is missing. Double trouble, if you know what I mean.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">23</span> – Well, that was some dire happenings. All told via gorgeously animated cutscenes, of course. First, the race car goes forward for a little bit before losing a wheel and crashing into the river. Oliver is struggling to stay afloat, but his helmet is weighing him down. Phil tries to get to him, but trips down a hill, leaving the task to Mom, who is out on the hunt anyways. She dives in and pulls Oliver to safety, but unfortunately suffers a heart attack right after. Cut to a hospital bedroom, and Mom says goodbye to her son as it rains heavily outside...</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">27</span> – Upset, Oliver now sits in his room and justifiably cries. His tears touch a little doll that his mom gave to him, magically bringing it to life. Evidently his name is Drippy, High Lord of the Fairies, and he has a fantastically thick Welsh accent. Thank goodness for subtitles. Also, turns out Oliver has a cat named Timmy, which is the same name as my cat. Love it. Anyways, Drippy now fills Oliver in on who is he and how he came to be and what they ultimately need to do. Turns out, there are parallel worlds, and if they can save the duplicate of Oliver’s mom in <em>that</em> world, it might just bring her back in <em>this</em> world. Yeah, seems plausible.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">32</span> – But first, we have to retrieve a magical spellbook from the fireplace.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/ni-no-kuni/ni-no-kuni-battle-boss-guardian-of-the-woods.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/ni-no-kuni/ni-no-kuni-battle-boss-guardian-of-the-woods-thumb.jpg" alt="ni no Kuni Battle Boss Guardian of the Woods" title="ni no Kuni Battle Boss Guardian of the Woods" class="image" height="450" width="800" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">33</span> – This spellbook is called the Wizard’s Companion. Drippy explains for a bit. It’s basically a book of Important Stuff, capable of holding your spells and other vital tidbits. I expect to reference it a lot during Oliver’s travels.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">35</span> – Now that Oliver has the Wizard’s Companion, we’re closer to getting to Drippy’s world and starting this mother-saving adventure. The second item we need is a wand, or at least something close to being wand-like. Drippy says I should look for something “brown and sticky.” Um…no.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">37</span> – Exploring the ups and downs of Motorville, but coming up empty on wands. That mysterious green-haired ghost girl makes another appearance, apologizing for being unable to save Oliver’s mom. She vanishes when Drippy reappears, leaving behind a wand for Oliver. Also, Drippy asked Oliver if he was okay with him being his sidekick, not getting the answer he wanted.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">41</span> – Armed with both book and wand, Drippy and Oliver head to Motorville’s town square to cast the Gateway spell, which will transport them to Drippy’s world. There are plenty of humans around, but evidently they can’t see magic due to their lameness, though dogs totally can. The Gateway spell creates some steps and a hallway of blinding light, which brings us…</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">43</span> – …right back to that beginning intro scene, with the wild herd of ulk running down Oliver and Drippy!</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">44</span> – After the ulk run away, a different type of beast remains behind, looking for a fight. Forty-four minutes into <strong>Ni no Kuni</strong>, we experience our first battle. Combat is a mix of menus and real time-based, with Oliver running around enemies, but still issuing commands like “attack” and “defend”. This fight is rather simple, but I can see things getting much more complicated down the line, with a lot of menu managing happening at the same time as the action does. Afterwards, Drippy says we should go to Ding Dong Dell—yes, that’s a place—and see if the king can give Oliver a <em>real</em> wand.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/ni-no-kuni/ni-no-kuni-forest.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/ni-no-kuni/ni-no-kuni-forest-thumb.jpg" alt="ni no Kuni Forest" title="ni no Kuni Forest" class="image" height="450" width="800" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">48</span> – We’re now on the overworld map, which has the camera pulled back very far. Enemies are visible, but still really hard to see because of this. Couldn’t figure out if I could change the camera or not. At least there’s no random battles, something I’ve grown to dislike over the years. Games like <a href="/nostalgia/chrono-trigger-15-anniversary-tribute"><strong>Chrono Trigger</strong></a> and <a href="/blog/i-didnt-beat-this-game-dragon-quest-ix-sentinels-of-the-starry-skies"><strong>Dragon Quest IX</strong></a> really spoiled me on this. Oh, and Drippy gives Oliver three loaves of bread, which can replenish HP if the situation gets desperate. Anyways, Ding Dong Dell is visible right down the road, so it’s only a short, uneventful walk over.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">50</span> – Well, we can’t get into Ding Dong Dell just yet. Seems like one of the guards is not himself, and without him, the gate won’t go up. Drippy suggests we then head to the Deep Dark Wood—yes, that’s a place—to see “an old man” for advice. Off we go.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">53</span> – Whereas Ding Dong Dell was close, the woods are far. This gave me many chances to learn how to avoid monsters, but they are pretty fast when the spot you, and so I got to fight a few more battles, which are still basic. Attack until the monsters are dead. Oliver gained a level though, boosting all the usual stats.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">55</span> – All right, found the Deep Dark Wood, which sports a bonus subtitle of “the Forest of Fairy Tales.” It’s lush and green and filled with some excitingly fresh plant designs. You can see Studio Ghibli’s child-like imagination here clearly, and it’s a joy to behold, as well as move through. At the beginning of the Deep Dark Wood is a save spot, as you can’t save anywhere when inside levels like this. Also, the save spot restores HP and MP whenever you use it, which will surely help with grinding down the road.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">57</span> – Chasing after Drippy. Turns out that “old man” he wanted Oliver to meet is actually…an old tree. Which can talk. Not gonna call it an Ent, as it looks more like a duck’s face merged with a tree. He’s got a great booming voice, and Drippy has some adorable styles for him, such as Your Tallship and Your Barkship.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">60</span> – Regardless, the tree does help out by providing a new page for the Wizard’s Companion, a spell called Form Familiar. What’s a familiar? Well, a bit like a Pokemon actually, and this spell allows Oliver to summon one from his very own heart. The one I got looks like a small, orange goblin, and you can give them nicknames, but I stuck with the default, which is Mitey. They can help Oliver out in combat, which I just begin to learn about as the first hour of <strong>Ni no Kuni</strong> comes to a close.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/ni-no-kuni/ni-no-kuni-battle-green-buncher-doron.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/ni-no-kuni/ni-no-kuni-battle-green-buncher-doron-thumb.jpg" alt="ni no Kuni Battle Green Buncher Doron" title="ni no Kuni Battle Green Buncher Doron" class="image" height="450" width="800" /></a></div>
<h2>First Hour Summary</h2>
<p><strong>Minutes to Action</strong>: 4 for controlling Oliver, and 44 for baby’s first combat</p>
<p><strong>What I loved</strong>: The fusing of two great elements, like peanut butter and chocolate. Studio Ghibli’s visuals and Level-5’s mechanics for this case. Everything in-game moves fluidly too, and there are a ton of tiny details to really immerse yourself in the world. Like when Oliver runs near Drippy, he’ll sometimes knock the High Lord of the Fairies over. Or when you walk near NPCs, you can pick up small bits of their dialogue before speaking with them. There are <em>a lot</em> of systems at work already, but the main menu has everything categorized well and easy to dive into. Also, bottles of iced coffee restore magic points—just like in real life!</p>
<p><strong>What I hated</strong>: Nothing so far. The opening hour is a bit heavy on story and set-up, with Drippy’s long explanations of <em>every</em> system vital, but maybe not needed just yet. There are some obvious JRPG clichés at work here, but I’m more curious to see if Studio Ghibli and Level-5 use them like every other game developer or spin them around on us.</p>
<p><strong>Would I keep playing?</strong> Oh, yes, absolutely. This adventure is literally only just beginning, and I played for maybe another thirty minutes more after the first hour concluded and was able to get inside Ding Dong Dell, which opens up a number of side quests and things to do. Oliver got some new clothes, too, so he fits in better and can visit the king properly. Right now, I have many options, such as helping a kitty person find flowers for her shop, hunting down a specific beast in the wild, or figuring out what’s wrong with the king. I am definitely going to keep playing; I just worry more that I won’t have enough of the time this game needs to be fully experienced.</p><!-- google_ad_section_end -->http://firsthour.net/first-hour-review/ni-no-kuni-wrath-of-the-white-witch#commentsday 11ni no kuni wrath of the white witchni no kunirpgps3Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:00:00 +0000Paul Abbamondi757 at http://firsthour.netBorderlands 2 - Mike's Rebuttalhttp://firsthour.net/full-review/borderlands-2-mikes-rebuttal
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<table class="infobox">
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="gamename" colspan="2">Borderlands 2</th>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td class="infoboximage" colspan="2"><a href="/screenshots/borderlands-2/borderlands-2-cover.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/borderlands-2/borderlands-2-cover-thumb.jpg" alt="Borderlands 2 Cover" title="Borderlands 2 Cover" style="vertical-align: middle;" class="infobox_image" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox">Platforms</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">Xbox 360, Windows, PlayStation 3</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="leftinfobox">Genre</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">Betterlands? Not so much</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox">Score</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">8... for now&nbsp; <img src="/sites/default/files/images/clocks/infobox-score-8.png" alt="Clock score of 8" style="vertical-align: bottom;" /></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="centerinfobox" colspan="2"><a class="amazonlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050SYK44?tag=thfiho0a-20" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>What began as a simple reply to <a href="/full-review/borderlands-2">my original <strong>Borderlands 2</strong> review</a> grew
into a full on rebuttal almost as long as the original piece! We
wouldn't normally rewrap comments into their own review, but since Mike
in Omaha is our resident <a href="/series/borderlands">Borderlands</a> expert and I was eagerly looking
forward to his own thoughts on the game, I asked for permission to make a
little copy and paste magic behind the scenes. What you see is his
original comment to my review with some bonus formatting to highlight
his specific points.</p>
<p>Before I hand it off to Mike, I'd like to
thank him for transforming my original <a href="/full-review/borderlands-greg-noe"><strong>Borderlands</strong></a> 1 experience from a
fun solo experience into an absolute blast of cooperative fun. He gave
me guns, helped me fight the final boss together multiple times, and
exponentially broadened my knowledge of the game. He's an expert on
Borderlands, its biggest fan, and as you'll see below, its biggest
critic. <a href="/full-review/borderlands">He awarded Borderlands 1 a 10/10</a> and provided first hour reviews
for <a href="/first-hour-review/borderlands">both</a> <a href="/first-hour-review/borderlands-2">games</a>.</p>
<p>Here's Mike in Omaha on Borderlands 2 and specifically <a href="/full-review/borderlands-2">my review of the game from Monday</a>. Original comment from October 10, 2012 at 2:07 PM.</p>
<p>I was going to write a full game review myself, but you've done a great job with your review and I agree with most of what you've written so I'll just add a couple of my observations/disagreements so
far.</p>
<p>First, let me agree with you about the grenades and shields. They've
really made these more interesting and more useful. Lots to see and do
with regards to ones shields and grenades, allowing deeper customization
and application of a variety of defensive and offensive playstyles.
However...</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"The guns, all 87 bazillion of them, feature much more variety in Borderlands 2."</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I've actually found the opposite. I liked the idea of each
manufacturer having a "Schtick" in theory but in practice I've found it actually pigeonholes
the weapons too much, restulting in less variety, not more. For instance, I can tell you
that I will ignore every hyperion gun immediately because they all have
that terrible accuracy for the first few shots. I also don't use
Tediore because I really dislike the grenade effect of the guns. I'm a
guy who loves a full clip, so I'm constantly reloading. Do that with a
tediore and you'll be out of ammo in about a minute. And the guns that
have burst fire while zoomed, those are also very restricting. So I
actually found that the guns were much more limiting this time, even as
they tried to offer more variety, they really ended up with less since
each brand is so similar to other guns of that brand. In Borderlands 1, there was a greater range within each manufacturer. They still had their own identity (Jacobs was all about power, S&amp;S Munitions specialized in high capacity magazines, etc), but each identity was broad enough that you never knew for sure if the gun would be good or bad, or would be better than something you were using now. The new weapon design means the guns of each brand are more recognizable yes, but also more predictable, meaning fewer interesting and meaningful combinations.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>"Borderlands 1 was a great game, Borderlands 2 is a greater game. Gearbox fixed many of the irks and pains of the first game"</p>
</blockquote>
<p>So far, for me, Borderlands 1 is a much better game. While I
do appreciate the improvements you skillfully enumerate in your review, especially the increase in enemy types and
development of the story, they've lost a lot of the magic of the first
game. Seeing Pandora with lots of water and even lush environments with
grass and streams and such has really changed my reality. Part of the magic of Pandora was the presentation as this vast Mad Max wasteland. An environment so
poison and lifeless that anything that actually does live there would be
incredibly dangerous and aggressive (or it would be dead). The effort to offer more visually
interesting environments (to address some peoples complaints about the
first game which I never shared) has meant that the Pandora of the first
game was really just a region and that the "badnessness" of the planet
is really just because of monsters, not also because of the incredibly
inhospitable environment. It's subtle but it's a big shift none the
less.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/borderlands-2/borderlands-2-siren-pandora-night-magic.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/borderlands-2/borderlands-2-siren-pandora-night-magic-thumb.jpg" alt="Borderlands 2 Siren Pandora Night Magic" title="Borderlands 2 Siren Pandora Night Magic" class="image" width="800" height="485" /></a></div>
<p>Also, the classes feel much less "wild and fun" this time around.
They are probably a bit better balanced (which pleases many critics) but there's no more going crazy
like in the first game, at least not perhaps till the very end game. In Borderlands 1, going berserk as Brick, or Phaseblasting as Lilith or dropping
Bloodwing could be a total game changer, even at very low level. The special powers of
Borderlands 2 are not nearly so gamechanging. At least not until we got
the Mechromancer. Each class has a skill that, rather than being amazing
on its own, contributes to a cool group dynamic. This, to me, makes
the game much less solo friendly (although, it probably makes the game
feel deeper in co-op play). The first game was lauded for its inspired
co-op design. But in my opinion the single player aspect never suffered
because the classes were much more autonomous. In this game, the classes
feel more needy. They almost feel imcomplete without another player to help make the most of their powers. Particularly with the introduction of slag (which was an effect that was part of corrosion in the first game, causing enemies to take more damage from bullets while being under its effect). Slag is
much more effective in groups. Without a group, it's actually a pain to
try to utilize for most of the game. You're constantly forced to switch
weapons and/or switch grenade mods. In combination with enemies having massive resistance to certain elements necessitating equipment changes already, that kind of further metagame management
isn't particularly fun. It's made worse by the fact that they've
significantly nerfed elemental weapons, while at the same time making
them more necessary. </p>
<p>In Borderlands 1, if you're using an elemental weapon, there are two
damage components. Bullet damage and elemental effect damage. In that
game, if an enemy was resistant to the elemental damage, you could still
count on them at least taking bullet damage. However, in Borderlands 2, they've
made a pretty serious change. In Borderlands 2, if a creature is resistant to
elemental damage, they also resist that guns bullet damage. So, for
example if you have a super powerful combat rifle that also does fire
damage, a fire skag will resist both, turning your super powerful combat
rifle into a useless toy. This bothers me for two reasons. It makes
good guns with elemental damage much less generally useful. And second,
it means more weapon switching and inventory juggling for solo gamers.
In Borderlands 2, I feel the need to carry around more versions of guns to do the
job. There's more to do and juggle. This detracts from the overall
experience in my opinion.</p>
<p>I'd also like to mention the badass rank system which I think is
pretty cool. I particularly like how it is profile wide so that your
increases will help any and all characters that you create. You don't
have to start over with each new character. I also love the inifinite ability to upgrade your stats using it.&nbsp; I do miss the proficiency and mini-quest
system it replaced though. I very much liked the idea that as you use
certain weapons you get better with THOSE weapons. If you want to be
good with a shotgun, just kill more stuff with it. In Borderlands 2, if you use an
SMG all the time, you STILL get better with shotguns and snipers. That
feels a little off.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/borderlands-2/borderlands-2-handsome-jack-striking-pose.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/borderlands-2/borderlands-2-handsome-jack-striking-pose-thumb.jpg" alt="Borderlands 2 Handsome Jack Striking Pose" title="Borderlands 2 Handsome Jack Striking Pose" class="image" width="800" height="500" /></a></div>
<p>Then there is the scaling. They seem to have exponentially increased
it per level. This does a couple of things. First, it can make
difficulty feel very swingy. Something that is just a level or two above you
can seem pretty hard. I've not had a lot of problems with this, but
reading lots of feedback on the gearbox forums, it seems people think
this game is a lot harder. I would argue that is at least in part due to
the increased scaling effect. If you don't do enough side quests to maintain your level, this game will get harder faster than the first one. Second, it means that the math will
skyrocket in the end game. Where guns early on do damage of 30-75 per
bullet, you'll see guns later doing damage in the thousands per bullet.
In the first game, where a great shield at level 50 might have been a
3000 point shield, in this game, a similar shield will offer 30,000
points of protection. But, yet, the enemies damage is also scaling so
the increased protection is really just an illusion. An illusion that
requires silly-large numbers to make it work. I say remove the
ridiculous scaling so that things are a manageable scale again.</p>
<p>Lastly, I will lament the loss of repeaters and revolvers as distinct
weapon types. First, I liked having a separate ammo pool and second,
because again, it means we have less variety in the weapons we find.
Gone are the glory days of giant hand cannons that could even be a good
backup for a sniper. And so far, gone also are the ridiculous machine
pistols that were like shotguns at close range, total bullet hoses with
horrible accuracy and insane fire rates.</p>
<p>Ok, so my comments seem pretty negative. Overall, I do like the game.
Not as much as the first, much of the magic of the first game has been "fixed", especially in solo play. But
it's still very good. My critiques are those of someone who spent altogether too much time playing the original. I miss the previous classes and how guns and
proficiencies worked. I miss that this game is more co-op driven and not
as solo friendly. But I love the new quest mechanics, the pervasive ranking system and the class design while playing co-op. I think the game feels more complete and the design is more mature. I love the humor, the characters and the much more fleshed out story (the ending was more satisfying than the first game). With about 100 hours of playtime using 4 of the 5 available classes, beating the game solo as the siren and in co-op as the commando, I'd give it a very solid 8, but with a sad face next
to it because I was more excited for this game to come out than probably
any game in the last 10 years and for me Borderlands the original was
easily a 10.</p><!-- google_ad_section_end -->http://firsthour.net/full-review/borderlands-2-mikes-rebuttal#commentsborderlands 2borderlandsfpsrpgps3windowsxbox 360Wed, 24 Oct 2012 11:00:00 +0000Mike in Omaha725 at http://firsthour.netBorderlands 2http://firsthour.net/full-review/borderlands-2
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<th class="gamename" colspan="2">Borderlands 2</th>
</tr>
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<td class="infoboximage" colspan="2"><a href="/screenshots/borderlands-2/borderlands-2-cover.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/borderlands-2/borderlands-2-cover-thumb.jpg" alt="Borderlands 2 Cover" title="Borderlands 2 Cover" style="vertical-align: middle;" class="infobox_image" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox">Platforms</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="leftinfobox">Genre</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">Shooting bullets, transcended</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox">Score</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">9&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="/sites/default/files/images/clocks/infobox-score-9.png" alt="Clock score of 9" style="vertical-align: bottom;" /></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="centerinfobox" colspan="2"><a class="amazonlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050SYK44?tag=thfiho0a-20" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>As the release date for <strong>Borderlands 2</strong> grew closer, I was surprised at
how excited I was for the game. <a href="/full-review/borderlands-greg-noe">I loved the first <strong>Borderlands</strong></a>, its
challenge, skill progression, and charm had obviously stuck with me, so
the sequel was an obvious buy. But I decided to push purchasing it to
the first major Steam sale, that couldn’t be too far off, right? Well,
thanks to 2K Games coming through and sending me a review copy, I was
back in Pandora much sooner than I thought.</p>
<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borderlands_2">Borderlands 2</a> was
released last month on Windows, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3. I played
the original Borderlands on my Xbox 360, but since then I’ve built a
gaming computer and my Xbox Live has expired, it was an easy decision to
switch over to the PC. I’ve honestly enjoyed the experience even more
on my PC, essentially no loading times certainly help, and the superior
graphics don’t hurt either.</p>
<p>I wish I could have gotten this review
done sooner, but I just finished the game for the first time and Steam
reports I played for 50 hours! I completed every side quest I could find
and helped a friend level up a few times, but this is a big game that
is worth exploring. 50 hours of one game in a month though for me is
pretty crazy. Here’s my review of Borderlands 2.</p>
<p>Alright, I’m back after spending two hours making my first Mechromancer character and bringing her up to level 9. I swore I wouldn’t go back to the game until I at least finished this review, but that didn’t take long at all, Borderlands 2 is fun and addicting in ways many games can just dream about. From chasing loot to leveling up to finishing more quests, there’s an endless stream of hooks, lines, and sinkers to be drawn in by.</p>
<p>Borderlands 2 is at heart a fast-paced first person shooter. There are no predefined guns in the game, they’re all generated and randomized to create a unique arsenal for everyone, and range from a pistol that shoots out fire bullets to an assault rifle that launches exploding shells that bounce along the ground. You gain experience by killing enemies and finishing quests, and while leveling up you can put points into three different talent trees that unlock abilities or boost your stats. It’s Diablo mixed with Doom mixed with Final Fantasy and topped off with some beautiful cel-shading giving it an industry unique look.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/borderlands-2/borderlands-2-siren-first-person-cave-caverns-magic.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/borderlands-2/borderlands-2-siren-first-person-cave-caverns-magic-thumb.jpg" alt="Borderlands 2 Siren First Person Cave Caverns Magic" title="Borderlands 2 Siren First Person Cave Caverns Magic" class="image" height="450" width="800" /></a></div>
<p>Borderlands 1 was a huge (and surprise) success that caught gamers off guard with its big world, multiple classes, humorous characters, and a story that could be replayed at least twice for even greater challenges. I’ll be honest and say that not a lot has changed, and that isn’t a bad thing. Gearbox found great success last time and they didn’t mess with the formula more than it needed. Let’s talk a bit about what has changed.</p>
<p>The character classes have evolved nicely since the first game, with the berzerker being upgraded to a gunzerker (his talent goes from madly punching people to dual-wielding and madly shooting people, makes so much more sense in the context of the game) and the hunter was converted into an assassin (who specializes in melee attacks, doesn’t make as much sense in the context of the game, but sounds fun). The soldier still has his turret and the siren’s talent has changed to freezing enemies mid-air. And at least from the characters I’ve played, the talent trees seem much more refined than last time around.</p>
<p>Borderlands’ storyline was its biggest problem, there was little urgency and the characters felt like nothing more than quest-givers. Borderlands 2 manages to fix these issues enough in my eyes by integrating you a bit more tightly into the story and fleshing out the heroes from our last go around. If you felt like the main characters were cardboard cutouts with guns last time, at least in Borderlands 2 they’re back but they’re colorful cardboard cutouts with guns. Like I said, it’s enough of a change to satisfy me. Well, except that it’s sort of hard for me to accept that a bunch of vault hunters would give up wanting to loot treasure and instead help a ragtag group of resistance fighters in their rebellion. At least in the first game the entire main goal from start to finish was to reach the Vault before anyone else. You know, treasure hunting.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/borderlands-2/borderlands-2-siren-zero-classes-fire.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/borderlands-2/borderlands-2-siren-zero-classes-fire-thumb.jpg" alt="Borderlands 2 Siren Zero Classes Fire" title="Borderlands 2 Siren Zero Classes Fire" class="image" height="450" width="800" /></a></div>
<p>The guns, all 87 bazillion of them, feature much more variety in Borderlands 2. Depending on the manufacturer, some are tossed upon reloading and explode like a grenade, while others can be shot as fast as you can click. There’s a new elemental power called slag which makes your enemies more vulnerable to damage, and the legendary weapons can completely change a game upon dropping. The reloading animations are excellent, too, with a huge variety of base animations that the game randomly builds off of.</p>
<p>But I’m even more impressed with the changes to grenades and shields. Grenades can now implode and suck bad guys into their center or home in on an enemy across the battlefield. The child grenades feel much more explosive this round too, and speaking of explosive, some shields will even explode upon extinguishing, causing a ton more pain for anyone in the vicinity. One shield I used a long time also exploded upon me losing all my health, which often meant a quick resurrection from the game’s Second Wind feature.</p>
<p>It’s hard for me to tell how much the graphics were updated between the two games, as I jumped from the Xbox 360 to an overpowered PC, but I had everything maxed and was constantly blown away by not only the fluidity of the game during heavy firefights, but the dynamic range of art styles. There are more types of bad guys with many variations, and the levels feel much more distinct. And maybe it was just me, but the levels feel a bit smaller, but in a good way. There’s already enough running around in Borderlands 2 that any more may have been too much. And while there are certainly some large areas, you can usually hop in a car to get around.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/borderlands-2/borderlands-2-gunzerker-river-threshers.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/borderlands-2/borderlands-2-gunzerker-river-threshers-thumb.jpg" alt="Borderlands 2 Gunzerker River Threshers" title="Borderlands 2 Gunzerker River Threshers" class="image" height="500" width="800" /></a></div>
<p>Along with the game’s unique art style and cel-shaded look, Borderlands 2’s music and sound design is also top notch. At times the soundtrack seems to sound like <a href="/first-hour-review/bastion">Bastion</a> and then during big battles there’s a dubstep touch to it. There’s a constant chatter from bad guys, and even some guns talk back to you: “there you go, wasting precious ammo again!” The guns feel like they pack a punch because the sound effects from shooting them sounds so real, and there’s a lot more direct communication from the game’s wide array of characters.</p>
<p>And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the new main baddie: Handsome Jack. While I wasn’t enamored with him as some fans and reviewers were, I can still appreciate the writing effort that went into his character. He’s there in the background from the start to finish, mocking you, calling you out, and cursing your name. This is a huge improvement over Borderlands 1 which simply featured an endless conveyor belt of named but faceless enemies standing in your way, including one that was killed off by the final boss in a cutscene. So yes, Handsome Jack is a much finer effort.</p>
<h3>Overall: 9</h3>
<p>Borderlands 1 was a great game, Borderlands 2 is a greater game. Gearbox fixed many of the irks and pains of the first game and managed to put out the best first person shooter I’ve played in years. There’s still room for improvement but this is still one of the most enjoyable games I’ve played all of 2012. Give it few hours, or days, of your life, you won’t regret it.</p>
<p>I'll have DLC reviews in the near future, starting with the Mechromancer.</p><!-- google_ad_section_end -->http://firsthour.net/full-review/borderlands-2#commentsborderlands 2borderlandsfpsrpgps3windowsxbox 3609Mon, 22 Oct 2012 11:00:00 +0000Greg Noe723 at http://firsthour.netThe Last Storyhttp://firsthour.net/full-review/the-last-story
<!-- google_ad_section_start --><!--break-->
<table class="infobox">
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="gamename" colspan="2">The Last Story</th>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td class="infoboximage" colspan="2"><a href="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-cover.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-cover-thumb.jpg" alt="The Last Story Cover" title="The Last Story Cover" style="vertical-align: middle;" class="infobox_image" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox">Platforms</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">Wii</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="leftinfobox">Genre</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">The JRPG, rebooted<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox">Score</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">7&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="/sites/default/files/images/clocks/infobox-score-7.png" alt="Clock score of 7" style="vertical-align: bottom;" /></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="centerinfobox" colspan="2"><a class="amazonlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007CSF3GO?tag=thfiho0a-20" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>There’s a narrow alley tucked into a corner of the industrial castle town, hidden behind the bustling Arena Square. Armorsmiths and swordcrafts crowd the path, talking shop and hawking wares to passersby in a gaunt corridor of tiny workrooms. In the alley’s only empty corner, a lean brute presses an elderly shopkeep against the grimy concrete and slyly demands a cut of profit.</p>
<p>It’s a place foul with sweat and industry. It swelters with forge and struggle. A stroll from end to end offers a glimpse of the desperation that is life for these lower class tradesman. They fight for survival, crammed into a corner of the last thriving city on the last prospering island in a rotting world.</p>
<p>The locals call this slum strip Artisan’s Way. It has an effortless narrative density that's so refreshing to see in a JRPG. <em>The Last Story</em>
could have been about this place. It’s not. <em>The Last Story</em> is about a
vampiric meteor that shoots giant lasers.</p>
<p><a title="Last Story first hour" href="/first-hour-review/the-last-story" target="_blank">It doesn’t start that way</a>. Genuine Good Guy protagonist Zael and his ragged mercenary friends just want to become knights, with the status and security that comes with a shiny suit of armor. The troop performs suitably for the island’s governor, and Zael even earns the affection of the man’s niece. Before they can start breathing easy, the heroes find new hardship in the political entanglements of nobles and all-out war against a rival species. For much of that first half of the game, the characters and conflicts feel believable, and the elements of magic and fate are relegated to the periphery.</p>
<p>But <em>The Last Story</em> still partakes of the genre’s lamest indulgences. It starts small, with irksome attempts at humor: Zael must be the thousandth JRPG hero who gets thwarted trying to peek in the girls’ bath, a gag so predictable and tired that I’m convinced it’s played as non-humor in Japan. But the trope cancer spreads as the heroes are later embroiled in the fight over mystical MacGuffins, both laboriously explained and difficult to recall. Dramatic cutscene deaths abound. It could all be borne if the foundational conflicts had meaning. But the handful of villains all undersell the drama, and the heroes’ inner journeys are too thin to hold alone over the game’s length.</p>
<p>
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rh1mOMO2Zl4" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>The plot may stumble in genre muck, but the game systems seem determined to avoid the same fate. <a href="/first-hour-review/final-fantasy-7">Final Fantasy</a> and <a href="/nostalgia/chrono-trigger-15-anniversary-tribute">Chrono Trigger</a> designer Hironobu Sakaguchi broke free from his menu-based safe zone and crafted a streamlined real time action game that feels almost alien to the genre.</p>
<p>The new feel starts in combat, where the player guides Zael through a skirmish that unfolds largely out of his control. The swordsman is equipped primarily with a single attack, a guard stance, and an evasive roll. He can also take cover behind columns and around corners, using the momentary protection to launch crossbow bolts at distant foes. At a glance, it could be mistaken for a simple third person shooter/action hybrid inspired by this generation’s first trendsetter, <a title="Gears 2 review" href="/full-review/gears-of-war-2" target="_blank"><em>Gears of War</em></a>.</p>
<p>Though Zael has minimal control over his party’s tactics, the battle system rewards the player who merges with the pack instead of going lone wolf. Zael’s only magic is “Gathering,” which calls enemies’ attention away from his allies, giving them a chance to cast their spells uninterrupted. After the mage tosses their fireball, Zael can fight within its magical residue for bonus effects (elemental powers, health regeneration) or disperse their helpful effects across the battlefield (disable enemy mages, heal distant allies). Surrounding a powerful foe with other swordsmen will weaken its attack and defense in addition to splitting its attention, and alternating attacks between Zael and the others builds a combo chain that exponentially increases the effect of each hit.</p>
<p>It’s a unique battle system with several neat ideas that sometimes aren’t so clean in execution. Stealth and the cover system in general are the biggest disappointments: pre-emptive strikes are rarely available and the crossbow is only just strong enough to interrupt the incantations of enemy mages. In contrast, the Gathering ability is almost too useful, as Zael can often kite the enemy around the battlefield with little self-risk while his pals pick them off with icicles and windstorms. Still, even <em>The Last Story</em>’s messiest features are fresh and active enough to make the next battle something to anticipate rather than dread.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://firsthour.net/screenshots/last-story/last-story-armors.jpg"><img src="http://firsthour.net/screenshots/last-story/last-story-armors.jpg" alt="Last Story Armors" title="Last Story Armors" class="image" height="385" width="760" /></a></div>
<p>Though the battle system allows for plenty of variety, character progression occurs with little customization or player input. Each of the seven main party members has only a handful of abilities that are automatically acquired and upgraded as they level up. Equipping different weapons and armor still affect each character’s stats, but the absolute difference between this sword and that sword is minimized. In fact, equipment management is usually just a fashion choice, offering little functional difference but dramatically altering your character’s appearance. It doesn't leave much for stat fiends, but I had a great time playing dress-up with my action figures, even if it can lead to some pretty weird getups. At the very least, it's nice to play a modern JRPG that doesn't constrict my characters with ludicrous belts and zippers.</p>
<p>If the character models look unimpressive, it’s because the game loves throwing dozens of them on screen at a time. Every plaza in the single hub town is packed full of pedestrians and loiterers, while battles often pit Zael and a quintet of friends against a dozen-plus humanoid foes. Unlike most JRPGs that play it safe in order to run smoothly, <em>The Last Story</em> seems determined to squeeze the Wii’s meager hardware into submission. The game drops to a slideshow during boss battles: I’ve never heard the Wii groan louder than when Team Zael goes up against a single huge foe, littering the battlefield with bright hues of magic and damage counters.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://firsthour.net/screenshots/last-story/last-story-cluster.jpg"><img src="http://firsthour.net/screenshots/last-story/last-story-cluster-thumb.jpg" alt="Last Story Cluster" title="Last Story Cluster" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<p>Usually that cavalier attitude towards system performance bothers me, but the scattering of townspeople provides a convincing illusion of autonomy and logic that I can’t help but appreciate. Unlike most JRPGs, the the polygonal community doesn’t look specifically crafted to be a series of sidequest billboards for the hero to “complete.” It’s why I can simply walk down an alley of traders, speaking to nobody, and feel as though I’m walking through a place that could exist somewhere. It’s actually unfortunate that <em>The Last Story</em> feels obligated to layer a hollow fantasy epic over the pure narrative its set design inspires.</p>
<p><em>The Last Story</em> may not be the final authority on fantasy epics, but it almost feels like a reboot of the JRPG, retooling the genre with new priorities that give the same old song and dance some new moves. Some of it works, a lot of it <em>needs</em> work, but it’s mostly refreshing, even if it doesn’t quite stand with the best iterations of the genre’s long-standing paradigm.</p>
<p><strong>Is it worth the money?</strong> Sure. At 20-30 hours for one playthrough, it’s much shorter than your standard JRPG epic. But that’s still a lot of entertainment for fifty bones.</p>
<p><strong>Is it worth the time?</strong> Yes. This is one JRPG that respects the player's time. No level grinding. No item farming. No dungeon puzzle busy-work. And there are tons of small quirks that make <em>The Last Story</em> feel brand new even to the JRPG enthusiast.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-titlescreen.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-titlescreen.jpg" alt="Last Story Titlescreen" title="Last Story Titlescreen" class="image" height="427" width="760" /></a></div><!-- google_ad_section_end -->http://firsthour.net/full-review/the-last-story#commentslast storylast storyjapanese role-playing gamerpgwii7androgynous charactercaveschest-high wallschoice illusioncombo countercutscene-deathdoppelgangerfantasyfarmingflashbacksghostslizardmenmedievalmonstersrunaway princessspiky hairtreasureFri, 28 Sep 2012 11:00:00 +0000Nate713 at http://firsthour.netThe Last Storyhttp://firsthour.net/first-hour-review/the-last-story
<!-- google_ad_section_start --><!--break-->
<table class="infobox">
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="gamename" colspan="2">The Last Story</th>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td class="infoboximage" colspan="2"><a href="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-cover.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-cover-thumb.jpg" alt="The Last Story Cover" title="The Last Story Cover" style="vertical-align: middle;" class="infobox_image" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox">Platforms</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">Wii</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="leftinfobox">Genre</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">Gears of Fantasy</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox"><a class="mta">MtA<span>Minutes to Action</span></a></th>
<td class="rightinfobox">1</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="leftinfobox">Keep Playing?</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">I guess so</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="centerinfobox" colspan="2"><a class="amazonlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007CSF3GO?tag=thfiho0a-20" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Operation Rainfall strikes again.</p>
<p>The fan campaign that convinced Nintendo of America to <em>actually publish <a title="Xenoblade Chronicles review" href="/full-review/xenoblade-chronicles" target="_blank">a hardcore Wii game</a> this year</em> can now celebrate its second victory. Another high profile Wii game found its way to the USA last month, though leery NOA decided to pass the risk of publishing to Xseed Games this time around.</p>
<p><em>The Last Story</em> is the latest game from director Hironobu Sakaguchi and composer Nobuo Uematsu, the duo that made <em>Final Fantasy</em> an institution (and vice versa). It’s hard to believe a publisher would refuse to localize a game with those two names attached, but Nintendo’s no stranger to unbelievable decisions.</p>
<p><a title="JRPG localization wishlist" href="/blog/my-jrpg-localization-wishlist" target="_blank">I'd been waiting</a> for this game to hit the USA for over two years. Then I had to wait even longer when my copy was put on backorder for a month after it finally launched. Here’s hoping it was worthwhile.</p>
<h2>JRPG Trope Judgment Hour</h2>
<p><em>I hear tell </em>The Last Story<em> is a JRPG that avoids most JRPG tropes. For this edition of our "Minutes of Note," I’ll contrast the JRPG stereotypes and the things I've never seen in a JRPG before. Let's see just how fresh this game really is.</em></p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">00</span> - British accents! That’s not only unexpected in JRPGs, it’s surprising in any genre. It's quite <strong>fresh</strong>.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">01</span> - Cover-based, real-time, semi-automated combat? That’s all kinds of western. <strong>Fresh</strong>!</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">10</span> - A save point. Gah, what an awful JRPG <strong>trope</strong>.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-stealth.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-stealth-thumb.jpg" alt="Last Story Stealth" title="Last Story Stealth" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">13</span> - Stealth, in a JRPG? Certified <strong>fresh</strong>.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">20</span> - Near-death experience triggers traumatizing flashback to a dying mother? Seems like a <strong>trope</strong> to me.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">21</span> - Traumatizing flashback to a dying mother triggers special magic powers? <strong>Trope combo</strong>!</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">22</span> - Disembodied voice that grants special magic powers: “If you wish to protect those who are precious to you, then pray for it with all your heart and soul.” <strong>Trope-streak</strong>!</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-petals.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-petals-thumb.jpg" alt="Last Story Petals" title="Last Story Petals" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">25</span> - Falling flower petals. <strong>Trope-tacular</strong>!</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">26</span> - Some (scripted) environmental destruction. That’s <strong>fresh</strong>, I suppose.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">35</span> - Fighting a white tiger with some kind of blue aura. I honestly don't think I've ever fought a white tiger before. <strong>Fresh again</strong>.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-tiger.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-tiger-thumb.jpg" alt="Last Story Tiger" title="Last Story Tiger" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">36</span> - Apparently I have to lure the spirit-tiger away from some kids in the battle arena. <strong>Fresh city</strong>!</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">&nbsp;45</span> - Looks like some kind of magic cannon. JRPGs love magic cannons. <strong>Trope</strong>.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">46</span> - Syrenne, the brash female of our group, sure does love her booze. Can't recall a JRPG character like that. <strong>Fresh</strong>.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-booze.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-booze-thumb.jpg" alt="Last Story Booze" title="Last Story Booze" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">48</span> - Apparently I can change the colour of my clothes with dyes. That’s a level of character customization you don’t see much in JRPG. <strong>Pretty fresh</strong>.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">52</span> - Oh boy, a flashback where the weak, vulnerable main character gets adopted by a capable and optimistic friend. Looks like a <strong>trope</strong> to me.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">60</span> - I was holding off on this, but...that hair, man. Everybody's got impossible, spiky tendrils of hair. <strong>Trope</strong> 'dos everywhere.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-flirt.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-flirt-thumb.jpg" alt="Last Story Flirt" title="Last Story Flirt" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<h2>First Hour Summary</h2>
<p><strong>Minutes to Action</strong>: 1</p>
<p>For all the good press on <em>The Last Story</em>'s, um...story, it's still deeply rooted in well-trod Japanese ground thus far. The main character, Zael, is like a Greatest Hits of JRPG hero stereotypes. His mother was tragically killed in front of him. He gains a mysterious power because his heart is "filled with loneliness and sorrow." He desires to become a strong knight so he can protect his friends. The silver-maned prettyboy isn't exactly breaking new ground when it comes to spiky headed protagonists.</p>
<p>Thankfully, the rest of his mercenary band fills out nicely with flirts, drunks, and wallflowers, each with just enough dialog to show that Zael's entourage is well-rounded and interesting, even if Zael himself is anything but. And the plot's constant forward momentum in the first hour is welcome, with Zael and Company marching through the lizardmen's cave and then back to the tavern, never stopping to explain the surely banal workings behind Yurick's elemental magic or Zael's super amazing ability to distract monsters while his pals hit them with swords.</p>
<p>
<iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/IhRQkqPlwc0" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p>That "Gathering" spell is the only real tactic in an otherwise effortless battle system thus far. Zael attacks automatically, has essentially no control over his allies, and his only manual attack seems to be his crossbow, a weak sidearm that can only be aimed (with clumsy analog stick control instead of the Wii remote's infrared pointer) while stationary. The first hour does plant some interesting seeds: cover-based defense and stealth, setpiece-style environmental destruction, and manual guarding and dodging. But there's been no preview of where the battle system is going to find its strategic depth later on.</p>
<p>At least Nobuo Uematsu's musical score has immediate impact. The sad violins on the title screen make way for heroic horns in the menu, and the in-battle music adds drama without drowning character chatter. Visually, we've got yet another title that Looks Good For A Wii Game<span style="font-size: 125%;"><span class="Unicode">™</span></span>. Muted earth tones and liberal use of bloom lighting recall Team ICO's PlayStation 2 titles; unfortunately, so does the sub-HD resolution. But hey, as one of the Wii's very last gasps of life, <em>The Last Story</em> might just be the last native 480p game we ever see on consoles. It is truly the end of an era.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-destroy-environment.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-destroy-environment-thumb.jpg" alt="Last Story Destroy Environment" title="Last Story Destroy Environment" class="image" /></a></div>
<p><strong>Bias</strong>: Like I said, I've been waiting for this game to hit the west for years. JRPGs aren't my favorite genre, but maybe that's why <em>The Last Story</em>'s unorthodox style appealed to me.</p>
<p><strong>Would I Keep Playing?</strong> I guess so. I don't know where <em>The Last Story</em> is going with its plot or battle system yet, but there's enough fresh ideas being planted that I'm interested in where the next few hours take me.<strong><br /></strong></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><strong><a href="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-title2_0.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/last-story/last-story-title2_0.jpg" alt="Last Story Title2_0" title="Last Story Title2_0" class="image" height="428" width="760" /></a></strong></div><!-- google_ad_section_end -->http://firsthour.net/first-hour-review/the-last-story#commentsday 11last storylast storyjapanese role-playing gamerpgwiicaveschest-high wallscombo counterfantasyflashbacksmonstersspiky hairMon, 10 Sep 2012 11:00:00 +0000Nate709 at http://firsthour.netPenny Arcade's On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3http://firsthour.net/full-review/penny-arcades-on-the-rain-slick-precipice-of-darkness-3
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<th class="gamename" colspan="2">Penny Arcade's On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3</th>
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<td class="infoboximage" colspan="2"><a href="/screenshots/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3-cover.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3-cover-thumb.jpg" alt="Penny Arcade's On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 Cover" title="Penny Arcade's On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness 3 Cover" style="vertical-align: middle;" class="infobox_image" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox">Platforms</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">Xbox 360, PC, Mac, Android, iOS</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="leftinfobox">Genre</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">RPG with uncommonly eloquent dick jokes<br /></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox">Score</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">7&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="/sites/default/files/images/clocks/infobox-score-7.png" alt="Clock score of 7" style="vertical-align: bottom;" /></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>A few weeks ago, I acquired <em>Breath of Death VII: The Beginning</em>, <em>Cthulhu Saves the World</em>, and all three episodes of <em>Penny Arcade Adventures</em> for eight bucks on Steam. It seemed like a steal at the time: five brief RPG comedies for less than I spend on my daily commute.</p>
<p>I dropped <em>Breath</em> and <em>Cthulhu</em> after a few hours. <a title="Zeboyd Games wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeboyd_Games#Breath_of_Death_VII:_The_Beginning" target="_blank">Zeboyd</a>’s nutty tributes to ‘80s JRPGs had their moments, but not enough to excuse dull battles, random encounters, and big empty dungeons.</p>
<p>The first two <a title="Penny Arcade Adventures wikipedia" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Arcade_Adventures:_On_the_Rain-Slick_Precipice_of_Darkness" target="_blank"><em>Penny Arcade</em></a> games weren’t much better. My disgust for their fetch quest campaign structure smothered my fondness for the <a title="Bowser's Inside Story review" href="/full-review/mario-luigi-bowsers-inside-story" target="_blank"><em>Mario RPG</em></a>-style battles.</p>
<p>So when I saw that <em>Penny Arcade’s Whatever 3</em> was the result of a Zeboyd/<a title="Penny Arcade" href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/" target="_blank">Penny Arcade</a> team-up, I braced myself for some whole new amalgam of repulsive game elements. It turned out to be a roundly enjoyable seven-hour adventure, one that almost excuses the twelve hours I slogged through the other four games in the bundle. Almost.</p>
<p><em>Rain-Slick 3</em> picks up the tale of brutal lackwit Gabe and verbose supernaturalist Tycho on their noir/eldritch adventures in god-slaying (two down, two to go). The customizable player stand-in character from the first two episodes is dropped from the story; the new playable quartet is rounded out by private detective Moira and Jim, a silent skull in a jar of preserving liquid.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3-fire.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3-fire-thumb.jpg" alt="Penny Arcade Rain Slick 3 Fire" title="Penny Arcade Rain Slick 3 Fire" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<p>With the new starring cast comes a new battle system. The active, streamlined approach of prior <em>Penny Arcade</em> games is dropped in favor of a turn-based menu of classes and commands resembling <em>Final Fantasy VI</em>, sans the ever-crawling progress bars. Instead, <em>PA3</em> features a sort of battle timeline at the top of the screen that gives the player a preview of turn order and a sense of each battler’s comparative speed. A handful of abilities can manipulate the timeline as well. It’s not the battle system centerpiece, as were the manageable queues in <a title="Radiant Historia review" href="/full-review/radiant-historia-or-how-i-learned-to-enjoy-japanese-rpgs-again" target="_blank"><em>Radiant Historia</em></a> and <em>Final Fantasy X</em>, but it’s a useful, unique function.</p>
<p>The real delight in <em>PA3</em> battles stems from the character job system. Each party member has his or her own specific skillset (Gabe’s Brute attacks, Jim’s Necromancy) but can also equip two more from a dozen interesting and swappable classes. Players will inevitably find a few quirky favorites among the collection, whether it’s the delayed-spellcasting Apocalypt, the berserker Dinosorcerer, or the teammate-leeching Diva. There’s gold to be mined from the customizable combos: I found my tank character by pairing the Tube Samurai’s defensive stance with the Crabomancer’s defense-as-offense abilities. Many skirmishes ended with his first attack.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3-classes.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3-classes-thumb.jpg" alt="Penny Arcade Rain Slick 3 Classes" title="Penny Arcade Rain Slick 3 Classes" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<p>Battles aren’t just strategic playgrounds, they’re also the game’s richest source of the funnies. While the foulmouthed <em>Pinky and the Brain</em> dynamic of Gabe and Tycho only periodically gets a genuine laugh, the enemy concepts and attack names are imbued with parody of 16-bit whimsy and carry snarky descriptions. You’ll face living typewriters with attacks like “Infinite Monkeys” to a rousing lo-fi orchestra, firing off magic spells like “RTFM,” “Sole Edge,” and “SHUT UP!”&nbsp; It’s a big step up from the incessantly recycled mimes, hobos, and straitjackets of past <em>PA</em> games and their barebones selection of offensive tools.</p>
<p>The battle system changeup elevates <em>PA3</em> above its predecessors, but the greatest improvement is the superb pacing. <em>PA3</em>’s constant forward jog through dungeon after dungeon helps heal the scars of its predecessors’ repetitive point-and-click errand atrocities. Equally relieving is the absence of the random battles that plagued past Zeboyd games. The game’s encounters are expertly placed: each setting has just enough skirmishes to introduce and accustom the player to new enemies, moving on before the novelty wears out.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3-map.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3-map-thumb.jpg" alt="Penny Arcade Rain Slick 3 map" title="Penny Arcade Rain Slick 3 map" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<p>And the challenge level was nearly perfect throughout (on Normal difficulty). Scrub monsters punish brainlessness but are dispatched quickly enough, while bosses require sound planning and careful execution. And the constant character and class growth ensures that you’ll never lack for tools of strategy: even the classes that go unused seem to level up after every battle. The player is never encouraged nor expected to level grind. I don’t think it’s even an option.</p>
<p>If <em>Penny Arcade 3</em> has any weak points, they’re cosmetic. The shift to a retro SNES style is harmless though also without merit, as the pixelated visuals certainly don’t benefit the old-timey earth tones that dominate much of the show. Some of the lengthier narration paragraphs feel out of place in a visual medium: why resort to exhaustive ramblings when the game’s 16-bit inspirations effortlessly conveyed action through crude sprites and brief dialogue? And the semi-serious narrative backdrop is as distant as ever, as characters’ driving motivations are largely squeezed into a handful of brief events.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://firsthour.net/screenshots/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3-shoot.jpg"><img src="http://firsthour.net/screenshots/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3-shoot-thumb.jpg" alt="Penny Arcade Rain Slick 3 Shoot" title="Penny Arcade Rain Slick 3 Shoot" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<p>The issues are remarkably few; certainly fewer than I anticipated after choking down the first two installments of <em>Penny Arcade Adventures</em>. I promised to quit the series if I didn’t like the first taste of <em>Episode 3</em>. Yet seven hours of playtime later, I’m hungry for more. This Zeboyd/Penny Arcade partnership is like two weekend garage bands meeting at a free show and suddenly coalescing into Weezer.</p>
<p><strong>Is it worth the money?</strong> Yes. Five bucks seems like the bullseye for a light, amusing RPG. If you need more value, it’ll probably show up in plenty of indie bundles going forward.</p>
<p><strong>Is it worth the time?</strong> Yes. There’s minimal padding in this seven hour quest. Don’t worry about playing the first two episodes, they’re almost entirely irrelevant to the events and humor of <em>Episode 3</em>.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3-battle_0.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3/penny-arcade-rain-slick-3-battle_0.jpg" alt="Penny Arcade Rain Slick 3 Battle_0" title="Penny Arcade Rain Slick 3 Battle_0" class="image" height="428" width="760" /></a></div><!-- google_ad_section_end -->http://firsthour.net/full-review/penny-arcades-on-the-rain-slick-precipice-of-darkness-3#commentspenny arcade rain slick 3penny arcade rain slickrpgandroidiosmacpcxbla7Wed, 08 Aug 2012 11:00:00 +0000Nate697 at http://firsthour.netValkyria Chronicleshttp://firsthour.net/first-hour-review/valkyria-chronicles
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<table class="infobox">
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<th class="gamename" colspan="2">Valkyria Chronicles</th>
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<tr class="even">
<td class="infoboximage" colspan="2"><a href="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-cover.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-cover-thumb.jpg" alt="Valkyria Chronicles Cover" title="Valkyria Chronicles Cover" style="vertical-align: middle;" class="infobox_image" /></a></td>
</tr>
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<th class="leftinfobox">Platforms</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">PlayStation 3</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="leftinfobox">Genre</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">Tactical World War I JRPG</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox"><a class="mta">MtA<span>Minutes to Action</span></a></th>
<td class="rightinfobox">11</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="leftinfobox">Keep Playing?</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="centerinfobox" colspan="2"><a class="amazonlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0016C3260?tag=thfiho0a-20" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></th>
</tr>
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</table>
<p>We’re celebrating our five year anniversary tomorrow with something
special, but before that happens, we need to play one more first hour,
and that game is <strong>Valkyria Chronicles</strong> for the PlayStation 3. Released
around the world in 2008, Valkyria bridges Japanese anime graphics with
an early 20th century European setting, a pairing that seems so wrong,
but may actually turn out alright.</p>
<p>Developed and published by Sega, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valkyria_Chronicles">Valkyria Chronicles</a> is a tactical
strategy game with third-person shooter elements, also not a pairing
seen often in gaming. But with in-house influences from <a href="/first-hour-review/skies-of-arcadia-legends"><strong>Skies of
Arcadia</strong></a>, <strong>Shinobi</strong>, and the <strong>Sakura Wars</strong> series, Valkyria Chronicles was
never going to be a normal type of game.</p>
<p>This 239th first hour review was actually meant to be <a href="/first-hour-review/god-of-war-3"><strong>God of War III</strong></a>,
but wouldn’t you know it, half an hour in I realized that Nate already
covered it two years ago. One of the disadvantages of having so much
content, I suppose. He was doing a better job on it anyway. So as fate
would have it, here is the first hour of Valkyria Chronicles.</p>
<h2>Minute by Minute</h2>
<p><span class="minute-counter">00</span> - I select New Game and the first hour of Valkyria Chronicles begins. There are no difficulty options so the game jumps right into the opening cutscene. A book opens and a female narrator says the year is 1935 EC. Okay. She starts describing two sets of nations going to war over some kind of made up element. The map looks like Europe and they even say Europe a few times, but it’s *not* Europe.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">01</span> - The Empire is bad and the Federation is good. East vs. West. The Empire kicks off the game’s events by attacking a little country called Gallia.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">02</span> - Prologue: Gallia to Arms! I’m browsing some sort of newspaper-like chapter selector now. I click to view the “A Meeting” episode.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">03</span> - The narrator continues on showing a farm town being deserted due to the incoming invasion. A man says he hasn’t been down this road in years, he’s amazed at some fish in the water. This is bizarre. He’s talking to them like they’re old friends, then draws them in his notebook.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">04</span> - A little girl puts a rifle to his head and starts questioning him. I like the anime style, it contrasts weirdly with the serious World War setting, but is rather charming.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-welkin-isara.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-welkin-isara.jpg" alt="Valkyria Chronicles Welkin Isara" title="Valkyria Chronicles Welkin Isara" class="image" height="254" width="480" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">06</span> - The man gets hauled into the station by the local militia thinking he’s an Imperial spy. Another new chapter, this one called “The Imperial Attack.” Sounds foreboding. Suddenly a Japanese girl shows up and recognizes the man, what the heck is she doing here among all these white people in western Europe?</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">07</span> - Well, Isara knowing me, Welks, frees me from the little girl and the militia. Suddenly, some men start attacking and throwing grenades. The Imperials are obliterating us. The girl hands me a gun and that episode is finished. You know, momentum can be kept by not throwing me back to the episode select screen every 30 seconds. The game recommends I save, okay.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">08</span> - “Encounter at Bruhl,” here we go, time for my first battle! The “little” girl, Alicia, details the plan. We need to kill all the scouts, and we lose if Welkin or Alicia dies, or if 20 turns pass.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">10</span> - An overhead map of the battle is shown, and then the tutorial begins.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">11</span> - I use a command point to select a character, and then can run around with them using action points. Intriguing system. I line up my reticule and fire, hitting the guy a few times.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">12</span> - The shooting is turn-based, I can spend as much time as I want aiming, this is pretty cool. I crouch behind the sandbag but the guy is still shooting me, I guess I’m forced to end his turn.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-overhead-battle-map.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-overhead-battle-map-thumb.jpg" alt="Valkyria Chronicles Overhead Battle map" title="Valkyria Chronicles Overhead Battle map" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">14</span> - I run Alicia up but am being shot at while running, then kill the guy with three shots (out of five).</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">16</span> - Spending the rest of her action points, I guide Alicia further into battle, but end up stranding her without cover, so I use my final Command Point to take control of her again.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">17</span> - It is now the enemy’s phase, one of them shoots Alicia and hits her once, but she shoots back and ends up killing him, kind of awesome. I’m back in control now with one baddie left.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">18</span> - He’s dead! “Operation Complete!” Wow, that was surprisingly fun. I’m... stunned. I get a B rank for finishing in two turns, lame.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">19</span> - “A Hilltop Promise” episode begins, Alicia has laid out the three dead soldiers in front of her, but says they should bury them. She swears to protect the town from the war, and releases some seeds into the air.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">21</span> - “On the 15th day of the third month of the year 1935...” long story short, the war on Gallia has begun. Narrator goes on to basically spoil the whole story and hints that Gallia won the war.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-rosie-shooting-combat.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-rosie-shooting-combat-thumb.jpg" alt="Valkyria Chronicles Rosie Shooting Combat" title="Valkyria Chronicles Rosie Shooting Combat" class="image" height="271" width="480" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">22</span> - Valkyria Chronicles title screen flashes by and the page turns to start Chapter 1, “In Defense of Bruhl.”</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">23</span> - Alicia, Welkin, and Isara walk through town, looking at its sights, including a large mill. Alicia is going to stay and fight but the other two make plans to leave town with the others. Doesn’t take long before Alicia is back with some bread in apology for arresting Welkin. “I’m not his girlfriend, just his hero. Although I’m really hoping to be his friend.” Friend-zoned already.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">27</span> - Isara is Welkin’s adopted little sister, I guess her Japanese heritage makes slightly not much more sense now.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">28</span> - All of the conversation scenes are just talking head portraits of the characters with hand-drawn art in the background to reflect the scene. It’s not <a href="/first-hour-review/final-fantasy-13"><strong>Final Fantasy XIII</strong></a>, but it’s nearly as effective.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">29</span> - Welkin tells Alicia that the army is not for him, he’d rather be a teacher. Alicia says giving back “in my own way” is deep. Ah, just kiss already. Oh oh, some bombs go off and a cutscene starts.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">30</span> - Woah, an awesomely animated scene plays with a missile landing on the mill destroying it, and then some soldiers run in and shoot up the citizens. I really liked that style, too bad it was so short.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-alicia-melchiott-seeds.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-alicia-melchiott-seeds-thumb.jpg" alt="Valkyria Chronicles Alicia Melchiott Seeds" title="Valkyria Chronicles Alicia Melchiott Seeds" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">32</span> - Another battle episode, had better save first. This time I just need to kill the enemy leader, but the failure scenarios still apply. We’ll be fighting around the mill plaza.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">34</span> - Their leader isn’t even on the map, so I’ll target some scouts first.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">36</span> - The first scout goes down under Welkin and Alicia’s attacks. I even use the third, no-named character this time.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">38</span> - The enemy phase is really interesting because we’re doing more damage to them than they are to us.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">42</span> - Ugh, just prematurely ended my turn on accident. Lame.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">43</span> - The enemy keeps getting a ton more command points than me, is there some method to this madness? Barely uses any of them, however.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-alicia-shooting-tank-combat.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-alicia-shooting-tank-combat-thumb.jpg" alt="Valkyria Chronicles Alicia Shooting Tank Combat" title="Valkyria Chronicles Alicia Shooting Tank Combat" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">44</span> - I apparently just killed the leader without realizing it, afterwards one of those cutscenes begins again and a tank rolls into town. Looks really mean. It decimates the town defense.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">45</span> - Oh, the battle is still playing out! The tank is attacking me in my position, jerk! He nearly kills the no-name guy in my squad.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">48</span> - New objective is to get to cover and hide in an alley. I get two extra command points and make a run for it. Turns out I just need to get the two heroes there, the other guy can screw himself.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">50</span> - Ouch! Rank D! The page turns to chapter 2, “Escape from Bruhl.”</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">51</span> - Welkin makes a run to his house to save Isara and their friend Martha. Some bad guys call Isara a “Darcsen,” no idea what that is but might just mean Japanese? Welkin bursts in and whacks a guy over a head and Isara shoots the other.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">52</span> - Wait, Martha is pregnant? She’s gone into labor.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-edelweiss-tank.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-edelweiss-tank.jpg" alt="Valkyria Chronicles Edelweiss Tank" title="Valkyria Chronicles Edelweiss Tank" class="image" height="271" width="480" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">53</span> - Bwahaha, Welkin and Isara’s father have been hiding a tank in a barn, now we’ve got some firepower. I’m a bit confused on whether Welkin hasn’t been in Bruhl in a long time or something? Hmm...</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">54</span> - Isara knows how to drive the Edelweiss tank, and will rely on Welkin to give the orders. They climb in the tank and the game’s A-Team theme song equivalent begins. Welkin wants to pick up Alicia and get out of town.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">56</span> - More saving... and another operation begins. I need to destroy their tank and defend our gate.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">57</span> - I get a quick tutorial on hand grenades and the fighting starts.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">59</span> - Unfortunately you can’t throw the grenades very far so I run Alicia out into the battlefield for a better throw... to her death! Game Over.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">60</span> - Thankfully able to retry the battle immediately, but that’s the end of the first hour of Valkyria Chronicles!</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-crouching-in-battle.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/valkyria-chronicles/valkyria-chronicles-crouching-in-battle-thumb.jpg" alt="Valkyria Chronicles Crouching in Battle" title="Valkyria Chronicles Crouching in Battle" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<h2>First Hour Summary</h2>
<p><strong>Minutes to Action</strong>: 11</p>
<p><strong>Bias</strong>: My biggest question before going into a JRPG is what kind of battle system does it feature, without playing the game, I don’t think I would have believed or understood exactly how it plays out. Valkyria Chronicle’s system is highly tactical, but throws you right down into the action a moment later, I really like it so far. But in all honestly, I really knew nothing about the game going in, I was just hoping it would be decently fun and not feature endless cutscenes and mindless chattering. Thankfully, the hour went by quite happily.</p>
<p><strong>Would I Keep Playing?</strong> Yes! This isn’t really like Uncharted 2’s “yes” or even Infamous’ “yes”, but more of a, “why yes, I am very intrigued by this title and it has surprised the heck out of me and wouldn’t mind playing the rest of the night” sort of “yes”.</p>
<p>The anime graphics aren’t off-putting at all for the setting and tone of the game, in fact, they make the whole teenage soldiers thing a bit more believable because that’s just a thing that you sort of expect in Japanese animation. I also really like the fact that there’s not traditional cutscenes where everyone stands around and talks, the talking heads are much more effective and contribute some subtlety in the expressions you can see in the faces.</p>
<p>Combat was what I hit off so well with, it’s a little silly if you think too hard about it (but most JRPG combat systems are, so don’t), the combination of planning from the overhead map to actually lining the baddies up in your crosshairs is invigorating. I’m not going to say I’ve been waiting for years for a system like this because I never even knew it could have existed.</p>
<p>And hey, the English voices didn’t rattle my skull, so points for that.</p><!-- google_ad_section_end -->http://firsthour.net/first-hour-review/valkyria-chronicles#commentsday tenvalkyria chroniclesvalkyria chroniclesrpgstrategythird person shooterps3Wed, 11 Jul 2012 11:00:00 +0000Greg Noe684 at http://firsthour.netMass Effect 3 - Extended Cuthttp://firsthour.net/dlc/mass-effect-3-extended-cut
<!-- google_ad_section_start --><!--break-->
<table class="infobox">
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="gamename" colspan="2">Mass Effect 3 - Extended Cut<br /></th>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td class="infoboximage" colspan="2"><a href="/screenshots/mass-effect-3/mass-effect-3-cover.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/mass-effect-3/mass-effect-3-cover-thumb.jpg" alt="Mass Effect 3 Cover" title="Mass Effect 3 Cover" style="vertical-align: middle;" class="infobox_image" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox">Platforms</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="leftinfobox">Recommended?</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">Yes</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="centerinfobox" colspan="2"><a class="amazonlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004FYEZMQ?tag=thfiho0a-20" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>I didn't mind the original <a href="/full-review/mass-effect-3"><strong>Mass Effect 3</strong></a> ending that much, but others
did, hated it even. But even I can admit there were some reasonable
arguments against the game's last few minutes, and maybe BioWare did
too, because here we are with the <strong>Mass Effect 3 Extended Cut</strong> available
to download.</p>
<p>This introduction will be spoiler free, but after that, I'm not going
to hold anything back. Nonetheless, the endings are now availabe on
Youtube, but I still woke up at 4 AM this morning to download the update
and replay the last few hours of the game. The developers recommend
that you begin your Extended Cut journey before you enter Cronos
Station, which is Mass Effect 3's point of no return. I'm not sure if
it's totally necessary to start that far back (took me five hours to
beat the game from this point my first time through, and over three
hours my second time), but I wasn't going to take any chances the first
time.</p>
<p>Before I go on, I believe the Extended Cut is a decent addition to
Mass Effect 3, it does clear many things up, but I'm sure some will
still be disappointed.</p>
<p>Spoilers from here on out.</p>
<p>First off, if you're looking for all of Shepard's old squadmates to gather around for a drink with Shepard leading the toast, you're going to be disappointed. Secondly, if you've spent three months putting your faith in the Indoctrination Theory, you're (probably) going to be disappointed. But if you were okay with the original ending and simply wanted more clarification and a better explanation of the timeline, you'll like the new conclusion.</p>
<p>I noted above that the devs recommend you start playing at the Cerberus Base, but the first new scene isn't until the epic dash into the beam that brings you to the Citadel. There's a nice additional scene where it shows your squadmates getting injured in the run and then the Normandy swoops in to pick them up. I had Liara, my love interest with me at the time and there was a final goodbye between her and Shepard. A nice, touching moment that also helps explain how the Normandy crew was suddenly on the other side of the galaxy when stuff started going down.</p>
<p>After beaming up, the ending stays on course until you reach the Star Child, so nothing different that I noticed with the conversation with the Illusive Man. But the Star Child finally allows you to ask questions about the Reapers, Crucible, and Catalyst. The answers many fans wanted are thankfully answered. The comparison of the Reapers to a fire struck me as a near perfect metaphor. The Reapers may be in combat, but they're not fighting a war, much like how fire burns but not maliciously. It's a bit hard to swallow when you've been fighting Reaper cannibals for 30 hours, but it explains the whole "cleansing" of species thing better.</p>
<p>Once you've picked a colored ending, you're treated to additional scenes of the immediate aftermath and what is apparently happening for years to come. For example, in the Synthesis ending, we see organics and Reapers working together to rebuild. There are still many similar scenes between the three endings but they don't feel as strictly color-coded anymore.</p>
<p>The Normandy crew still lands on a random jungle planet, but they're actually shown leaving the planet later on, which makes this feel less like they have to start over in the middle of nowhere and more like a temporary respite from the action. There's also a touching scene on the Normandy by the wall of names of crew members who have died. With Admiral Anderson's name already on the wall, Liara carefully places Commander Shepard's name above his (in the Destroy ending she doesn't place it on the wall, indicating that she doesn't quite believe he's dead; in line with Shepard's deep breath mini-scene).</p>
<p>The three endings have extended voice overs all this action. In the Synthesis ending, EDI explains how she's actually alive now, and how the galaxy has evolved. In the Destroy ending, Admiral Hackett details how organics won the war over the Reapers and the need to rebuild. And in the Control ending, Shepard speaks as if he is a god, explaining how the sacrfices of the human Shepard enabled him to take control of the Reapers himself in the rebuilding effort. That one is rather eerie.</p>
<p>But maybe the best part about the whole new Extended Cut is the brand new, Reject ending. While talking to the Star Child, you can respond negatively to him, telling him you won't accept any of his terms. The Star Child gets pissed, says "SO BE IT!" in Harbinger's voice (a clear nod to the Indoctrination Theory, if you ask me), and says the cycle will continue. Reapers and organics continue to fight, and it's implied we lost. A new scene kicks off showing a holographic recording of Liara explaining to future cycles that even though everyone in the galaxy banded together, they still lost. It's a rather depressing ending, until...</p>
<p>The post-credits scene where the (new) Stargazer speaks basically says outright that because of what Shepard did and with Liara's archive, the next cycle was able to successfully defend itself against the Reapers and destroy them. I love it.</p>
<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MjYm31aTHaI" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p><!-- google_ad_section_end -->http://firsthour.net/dlc/mass-effect-3-extended-cut#commentsmass effect 3mass effectrpgthird person shooterTue, 26 Jun 2012 17:00:00 +0000Greg Noe681 at http://firsthour.netFinal Fantasy XIIIhttp://firsthour.net/first-hour-review/final-fantasy-13
<!-- google_ad_section_start --><!--break-->
<table class="infobox">
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="gamename" colspan="2">Final Fantasy XIII</th>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td class="infoboximage" colspan="2"><a href="/screenshots/final-fantasy-13/final-fantasy-13-ps3-cover.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/final-fantasy-13/final-fantasy-13-ps3-cover-thumb.jpg" alt="Final Fantasy XIII Cover" title="Final Fantasy XIII Cover" style="vertical-align: middle;" class="infobox_image" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox">Platforms</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">PlayStation 3, Xbox 360</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="leftinfobox">Genre</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">Soulless JRPG</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox"><a class="mta">MtA<span>Minutes to Action</span></a></th>
<td class="rightinfobox">5</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="leftinfobox">Keep Playing?</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">No</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="centerinfobox" colspan="2"><a class="amazonlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000FQ2DTA?tag=thfiho0a-20" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>I’ve played every single numbered <strong>Final Fantasy</strong> game up through <strong>XII</strong>,
so playing the thirteenth entry was inevitable. But from the guy who
bought Final Fantasy <strong>VIII</strong>, <strong>IX</strong>, <strong>XI</strong>, and <strong>XII</strong> on release days, finally
getting around to <strong>XIII</strong> two years after release is a bit odd. But from a
combination of some bad press and plenty of other games to play, I
didn’t mind.</p>
<p>But here we are with the first hour of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Final_Fantasy_XIII"><strong>Final Fantasy XIII</strong></a>. I’ve also
reviewed <strong>VII</strong> and <a href="/first-hour-review/final-fantasy-8"><strong>VIII</strong></a>’s first hour previously, and had mixed success,
though I can solidly point to the <a href="/first-hour-review/final-fantasy-7">opening of <strong>Final Fantasy VII</strong>’s</a> to be
one of the highlights in the JRPG genre. Whether we can agree or not on
the rest of game is irrelevant, but it sure does kick off with a bang.</p>
<p>And as you’ll see, <strong>Final Fantasy XIII</strong> also kicks off with a bang, but
can it keep that momentum? Or is there something deeper required for a
successful first hour? We’re about to find out.</p>
<h2>Minute by Minute</h2>
<p><span class="minute-counter">00</span> - I select New Game and the first hour of Final Fantasy XIII begins. Loading... We get a view of a cloudy sky as the camera pans down over what looks like a green Grand Canyon. A girl says “the 13 days after we awoke, were the beginning of the end.” We get a few shots of a train going by.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">01</span> - Inside the train are a bunch of hooded captives and a guard with a gun. A man named Sazh and a woman named Lightning are discussing something. The train runs through something solid and Lightning jumps up and takes out the guards.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">02</span> - “You all right? I’m not a l’Cie.” Lightning does some crazy stunts as Sazh says everyone wants to fight. We enter a huge green-lit city of sorts as fighter jets scramble to shoot our train down.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">03</span> - Lightning shoots back with a rocket launcher, which is useless against these really fast fighters. After the train crashes, all the civilians are running around shooting guns at the guards, and then some kind of animals get summoned to assist in fighting us.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">04</span> - Sazh climbs out of the train to chase after Lightning. Looks like it’s time for our first battle. The tutorial for fighting begins.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">05</span> - Much like many previous Final Fantasy games, there is an Active Time Battle guage you have to wait to fill up before you can act. After about a dozen more text boxes, I learn that the game will Auto-Battle for me. Lightning slashes with her gunblade(!) and Sazh shoots with his twin pistols. How’d they get these on the train?</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">07</span> - For some reason Sazh has a chocobo living in his afro? Ugh. We’re fighting the mech again, for having a huge laser gun and eight spinning saw blades, it sure doesn’t do a lot of damage to us.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">08</span> - After tapping X a ton, we win. Sazh yells at Lightning that she should be protecting civilians because of Sanctum and the Purge or something. “I’m getting too old for this.” Sazh looks like he might be in his 30s, which places him as one of the oldest Final Fantasy characters.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">10</span> - I have access to the menu now so I poke around at all the different options and screens. Looks like you can only equip a weapon and one accessory on each character. A bunch more text pop-ups appear to tell me things.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">11</span> - My second battle, this one just against two foot soldiers who go down in seconds. After the battle you get some information such as how fast you beat them, and are awarded up to five stars on your performance. What do the stars mean?</p>
<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/VLJ-CBh3f_M" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">12</span> - I try to run past a battle but they catch me. Am I gaining experience points? Gold? Doesn’t seem like it, why am I even battling? I’ve also heard that this game is linear, and so far I’ve just ran down a completely straight line, but I think I’m on some sort of bridge so whatever.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">14</span> - “Better to die than get sent to Pulse. It’s like hell without brimstone.” Lots of unknown nouns being thrown out in conversations, am I supposed to look this stuff up in the datalog or something? I also keep getting five stars in battle just by hurridly hitting the X button.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">15</span> - My first save point, you can also shop at them. Then on to more fighting.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">17</span> - Haha, Lightning yells “Preemptive Strike!” before this battle, but that just alerts them to our presence. Another tutorial, this one about learning to use items. I was wondering what that Item menu option was for.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">18</span> - A bridge collapses right in front of our heroes and I’m guessing a lot of people died. Lightning snaps her finger and starts floating, but Sazh grabs her before she flies off. Guess he doesn’t want to be left alone, kind of selfish though.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">20</span> - I kind of like how your party members don’t follow you caterpillar style, but just sort of run off and do their own thing.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/final-fantasy-13/final-fantasy-13-lightning-battle.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/final-fantasy-13/final-fantasy-13-lightning-battle-thumb.jpg" alt="Final Fantasy 13 Lightning Battle" title="Final Fantasy 13 Lightning Battle" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">22</span> - Fighting some PSICOM Marauder now, who is sort of boss like. The game presents a tutorial on chaining and how a long enough chain will stagger the enemy so that you can whoop down on them, similar to <a href="/full-review/how-persona-3-destroyed-my-love-for-japanese-rpgs"><strong>Persona 3 FES</strong></a>.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">24</span> - “Pulse Fal’Cie. My angle, I’m after the Fal’Cie.” No idea what Lightning is talking about, still hoping for an explanation. They hover off on some craft as the action switches to a new location.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">25</span> - The Sanctum Patriarch is talking now, guess he’s the bad guy? A guy named Snow appears and yells, “these people need heroes!” and does the Tidus fist-pump.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">26</span> - I’m now in control of Snow, the mini-map shows another long, straight path in front of him. I save my game and try to talk to some civilians lying on the ground but nothing happens. They just talk on their own as I wander nearby.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">27</span> - These guys are the “resistance front” but one of them is complaining about how tough his life is and rolling around on the floor. What is this game? Snow is joined by Gadot and Lebreau in battle, thankfully neither of these is the lazy one. Battles with Snow go just as quick as with Lightning and Sazh.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">29</span> - After two battles we get another cutscene of that kid complaining, and then another battle starts immediately.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/final-fantasy-13/final-fantasy-13-sazh-chocobo-hair.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/final-fantasy-13/final-fantasy-13-sazh-chocobo-hair.jpg" alt="Final Fantasy 13 Sazh Chocobo Hair" title="Final Fantasy 13 Sazh Chocobo Hair" class="image" height="271" width="480" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">31</span> - More running, more battles, more cutscenes of that whining kid. Snow comes across a group of people just sort of chilling out, I’m really confused if this is like a warzone or if people live here? Either way, the civilians want to help fight.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">32</span> - A woman stands up and her kid gets concerned. Snow looks at her and the woman says, “Moms are tough.” The last gun goes to a little girl, ah, she must be the narrator from the beginning as she gives her first impression of Snow (all talk).</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">34</span> - I successfully run past a battle! Probably didn’t miss a thing, except some X-tapping. and another cutscene, some giant dog thing jumps off a platform in front of Snow.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">35</span> - Gadot and Lebreau have “???” for their hit points, I wonder if they’re going to be permanent party members? At least try a little harder, Final Fantasy XIII.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">38</span> - After a battle, Snow is rescued by the mom and she once again says, “Moms are tough.” Oh, and then she basically gets blown up in Snow’s arms. How poetic.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">39</span> - Another bridge collapses and people slide off it Titanic style, then Snow’s bridge starts to go down and he barely grabs on to the mom’s hand. But she falls with her son looking on. Surprised she didn’t get one last “Moms are tough” in before she died. And then Snow falls. Hopefully he’s dead too.</p>
<p><iframe src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/8G0MWqnH00Q" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe></p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">40</span> - The son is in struck, but that girl slaps him and they run off. The scene switches to Sazh and Lightning looking on. Sazh seems as confused by all the crazy terms as I am. “Pulse Fal’Cie, and their l’Cie, are enemies of the state.” Okay.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">42</span> - A battle is initiated at the end of the cutscene against something called a Myrmidon. For some reason it’s only hitting Sazh and I’m forced to use a potion on him before we stagger and kill it.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">44</span> - The Pulse Fal’Cie appears yelling stuff about how this is their land now. We’re back to the boy and girl, named Hope and Vanille, respectively. Never mind, we’re now back to Lightning again.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">45</span> - Sazh asks what the difference between the Pulse Fal’Cie and the Sanctum’s Fal’Cie is. Stop using that word and not explaining anything.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">46</span> - And now back to Snow, who is alive and well after falling hundreds of feet. Gadot says his bride-to-be is in the Fal’Cie thing. Is that who Lightning is looking for? And what happened to Lebreau?</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/final-fantasy-13/final-fantasy-13-lightning-snow-vanille.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/final-fantasy-13/final-fantasy-13-lightning-snow-vanille-thumb.jpg" alt="Final Fantasy 13 Lightning Snow Vanille" title="Final Fantasy 13 Lightning Snow Vanille" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<p><span class="minute-counter">50</span> - Even though Gadot has “???” amount of health, I’m forced to toss him a potion. Maybe he’s the ultimate bad guy and we’re not supposed to know he has like 10,000 hit points.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">51</span> - Funny how everyone is using guns but Snow, who runs up and punches people like Zell from Final Fantasy VIII. Snow and Gadot jump on some flying motorbikes and make it back to Lebreau, Hope, and Vanille.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">53</span> - Hope is mad at Snow for killing his mom, they try to get his attention but he starts his bike again and they don’t hear him. After he flies off, I gain control of Hope, run 10 feet, and another cutscene kicks off.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">55</span> - They’re going to fly to the Fal’Cie to chase after Snow. After I save, they crashland on the Fal’Cie. “Even soldiers know not to go to the Fal’Cie, you become a l’Cie and then you’re finished.” Yeah, this all makes so much sense.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">59</span> - Vanille grabs some sort of stick from behind a statue, how’d she know that was there? Good timing, because we’re forced into a fight.</p>
<p><span class="minute-counter">60</span> - Wow, her weapon is like a four-pronged fishing rod that snaps out and whips the bad guy. That’s the weirdest thing ever. I save my game again and the first hour of Final Fantasy XIII comes to a close.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/final-fantasy-13/final-fantasy-13-vanille-weapon.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/final-fantasy-13/final-fantasy-13-vanille-weapon-thumb.jpg" alt="Final Fantasy 13 Vanille Weapon" title="Final Fantasy 13 Vanille Weapon" class="image" height="270" width="480" /></a></div>
<h2>First Hour Summary</h2>
<p><strong>Minutes to Action</strong>: 5</p>
<p><strong>Bias</strong>: Pretty hard not to have any kind of predisposition on Final Fantasy XIII, at least for a formally big Final Fantasy nerd like myself. A lot of the early press that reached me was incredibly negative, I seem to remember big sites ripping on it pretty hard, but the final <a href="http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/final-fantasy-xiii">Metacritic score</a> for the PS3 version ended up at 83, a super respectable score for any title. So was it mostly just fan reaction which tainted my view of the game? The major complaints I remember are its linearness and weak battle system, both show up right away in the first hour. Fans say that the game can take many hours to get going, a trait many JRPGs seem to suffer from, but is that any excuse for a modern game? Hmm...</p>
<p><strong>Would I Keep Playing?</strong> No, this was honestly one of the worst first hours I’ve played in a long time. The linear walkway is only part of the problem, along with the dead simple battle system, walk ten feet and watch another cutscene, rather obnoxious line up of characters and voice cast, not to mention the completely unexplained, rather complicated world of Fal’Cie or Sanctum or whatever this is. No, I’m not expecting every answer right away, but this is one of the worst examples of tossing you in the middle of the action I’ve played. When the action doesn’t make sense, I have no interest.</p>
<p>But I think the biggest problem is that Final Fantasy XIII feels soulless. The game is stunning to behold, but there’s no substance. I don’t understand, let alone care about anything that’s going on. The characters feel as flat as the path we’re walking down, and cutscenes with bumbling child soldiers and big dog mechs being dropped in don’t help. What gameplay is there, isn’t really, it’s just an interruption between cutscenes.</p>
<p>I wasn’t sure if I would love or hate Final Fantasy XIII, but I don’t, it’s worse: I feel indifferent.</p>
<p><strong>Note</strong>: I recorded the entire first hour and uploaded it to YouTube, but it was blocked by some company called SBSi for copyright infringement. Their loss.</p>
<p><strong>Second Note</strong>: Lightning is voiced by <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0385029/">Ali Hillis</a>, who also acts as Dr. Liara T'Soni in the <a href="/series/mass-effect"><strong>Mass Effect</strong> series</a>. I'm not sure yet if she's right for the role in Final Fantasy XIII, but I absolutely adore her voice and hearing her again brings on these weird waves of emotion. I think I'm just greatly affected by the Shepard/Liara romance in all three Mass Effect games. Yeah, I'm that guy.</p><!-- google_ad_section_end -->http://firsthour.net/first-hour-review/final-fantasy-13#commentsday tenfinal fantasy 13final fantasyrpgps3xbox 360Fri, 15 Jun 2012 11:00:00 +0000Greg Noe672 at http://firsthour.netXenoblade Chronicleshttp://firsthour.net/full-review/xenoblade-chronicles
<!-- google_ad_section_start --><!--break-->
<table class="infobox">
<tbody>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="gamename" colspan="2">Xenoblade Chronicles</th>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<td class="infoboximage" colspan="2"><a href="/screenshots/xenoblade-chronicles/xenoblade-chronicles-cover.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/xenoblade-chronicles/xenoblade-chronicles-cover-thumb.jpg" alt="Xenoblade Chronicles Cover" title="Xenoblade Chronicles Cover" style="vertical-align: middle;" class="infobox_image" /></a></td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox">Platforms</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">Wii</td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="leftinfobox">Genre</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">Better late than never action RPG</td>
</tr>
<tr class="odd">
<th class="leftinfobox">Score</th>
<td class="rightinfobox">9&nbsp;&nbsp;<img src="/sites/default/files/images/clocks/infobox-score-9.png" alt="Clock score of 9" style="vertical-align: bottom;" /></td>
</tr>
<tr class="even">
<th class="centerinfobox" colspan="2"><a class="amazonlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007RNWUC4?tag=thfiho0a-20" target="_blank">Buy from Amazon</a></th>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Nearly two years after its initial Japanese release, and eight months
after finding its way to Europe and Australia, Nintendo of America
finally saw fit to grace North American Wiis with the critically
acclaimed <a href="/first-hour-review/xenoblade-chronicles"><strong>Xenoblade Chronicles</strong></a> (though not without&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Rainfall">a lot of pestering</a>&nbsp;it
would seem). Debuting at E3 2009 under the title Monado: Beginning of
the World, Monolith Soft's latest immediately captured the attention of
RPG-starved Wii owners with its large, open environments, colourful
atmosphere, and intriguing storyline.</p>
<p>Probably most intriguing, however, was the gameplay. Xenoblade<span style="background-color: #ffffff;">—</span>its
title a tribute to Monolith's flagship franchise, <strong><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenosaga">Xenosaga</a></strong><span style="background-color: #ffffff;">—</span>deviates
considerably from traditional JRPGs, doing away with random encounters
and turn-based combat. Instead, players do battle on the very map they
explore, without a transition to a battle screen, and with the ability
to see enemies long in advance, as many are simply animals going about
their business in the game world. Battles themselves are much more
tactical, seeing players manoeuvring about the battlefield for ideal
position and using abilities at advantageous times.</p>
<p>Never mind that I'd been craving some decent RPG action for a while, I
definitely wanted to see what Xenoblade had to offer, and was more than
a little disappointed when it first looked as if I wouldn't get the
chance. Better late than never, I guess. At least my Wii has something
to do now besides collecting dust.</p>
<p>Xenoblade is set upon the surface of two gigantic gods who fought and killed one another long ago. Over countless eons, the earth, oceans, atmosphere, plants, and animals would form and grow upon the surface of the organic being, Bionis, as a result of the ether energy found within. Among the creatures evolved several sentient species, such as the human-like Homs. Similarly, from the mechanical being, Mechonis, spawned a race of machines known as the Mechons, who feed off of the ether energy of living organisms.</p>
<p>The game begins during the final confrontation in a war between the Homs and Mechons. Against insurmountable odds, Dunban, Hero of the Homs and wielder of the mystical Monado<span style="background-color: #ffffff;">—</span>the only weapon that can significantly damage Mechons<span style="background-color: #ffffff;">—</span>defeats the main force of the mechanical invaders, sending them in full retreat. The stress of wielding the sword almost kills Dunban, however. One year later, Dunban, still not fully recovered, is forced to take up the sacred sword once again during a surprise Mechon attack on his home town of Colony 9. It's not long, however, before he's unable to continue. This is when Shulk (our hero) takes it upon himself to use the sword. To everyone's surprise, not only is he able to control it, but uses it to drive back the Mechon. Henceforth, under the leadership of Shulk, guided by strange visions triggered by the Monado, an ever-expanding party of Bionis natives embark on a quest of revenge against the Mechons.</p>
<p>Despite some predictability and the occasional eye-rolling moment, the story is pretty well written. It won’t be for everyone, though. It feels a lot like a Japanese cartoon, but with a lot less melodrama and weird-for-the-sake-of-weird characters and plot points. If nothing else, the story is entertaining due to the exceptional voice acting and well put-together cut scenes that put shame to most Saturday morning cartoons. I also thought the entire main cast was likeable despite the oh-so cliché attitudes they often exhibit.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/xenoblade-chronicles/xenoblade-chronicles-shulk-plains.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/xenoblade-chronicles/xenoblade-chronicles-shulk-plains.jpg" alt="Xenoblade Chronicles Shulk Plains" title="Xenoblade Chronicles Shulk Plains" width="600" height="338" class="image" /></a></div>
<p>As good as the story is, combat is easily the biggest highlight of the game. Even in the realm of action RPGs, Xenoblade's battle system is a robust, refreshing design that places a large emphasis on teamwork, positioning, and timing. Because of how involved and fast-paced combat can be, control is limited to one character, with AI taking command of your companions (up to two). Fear not<span style="background-color: #ffffff;">—</span>the AI is pretty good about using the appropriate abilities for a given situation, and that's without the generic commands you can issue if things get disorganized. You can change who you control at any time outside of combat, but I feel Shulk is the most obvious choice, as the rewards for his proper control are far too great to leave in the hands of AI.</p>
<p>When fighting, you can move your character freely while they attack automatically when in range of the targeted enemy. This auto-attack sequence can be interrupted with special attacks called Arts, which enter a cool-down state after use; no worrying about "mana" or "action points" or what-have-you. Special "Talent Arts" (each character has one) are available after filling a gauge, usually by auto-attacking or using specific Arts. Interestingly, there are no items to use in combat; players must rely entirely on the Arts at their party's disposal to see them through a fight. Those are just the very basics, however. There is a lot more to the system, too much to cover in this review in fact, so I'll explain only some of its more primary aspects.</p>
<p>One of the unique concepts, and one of the first introduced to players, is the Break/Topple/Daze trio of effects that can be inflicted upon enemies by certain Arts. Break is useless in and of itself, but allows attacks with Topple to take effect, which in turn allows Daze to take effect. This progressive series of effects is best described as taking an enemy off balance, knocking them over, and then knocking them out. When Toppled or Dazed, an enemy remains immobile and unable to attack for a brief period of time. A Dazed enemy will simply stay down longer. This is especially useful because many Arts cause Bonus Damage or additional effects when hitting an enemy from the side or from behind, and it's much easier taking up position against an unmoving opponent. Some enemies can't be damaged significantly at all unless Toppled.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/xenoblade-chronicles/xenoblade-chronicles-metal-face-battle.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/xenoblade-chronicles/xenoblade-chronicles-metal-face-battle.jpg" alt="Xenoblade Chronicles Metal Face Battle" title="Xenoblade Chronicles Metal Face Battle" width="600" height="336" class="image" /></a></div>
<p>Since most characters have abilities pertaining to only one or two of these effects, you'll have to rely on teamwork to take enemies down. Traditional ailments such as Sleep and Paralysis are present as well, but these ailments bring something new to the table to strive for, and setting up such combos can be incredibly satisfying and fun. Should a character become Toppled or Dazed themselves, you can pick them up by approaching them and pushing B. The AI can help you in the same way.</p>
<p>Another key element is the Party Gauge, represented by three bars in the top-left corner of the screen. When a character lands a critical hit, dodges an attack, or misses an enemy an on-screen prompt will sometimes appear requiring you to push B at the right time to congratulate or encourage your teammates. This is called Burst Affinity. Burst Affinity and causing Bonus Damage are the primary ways to fill the Party Gauge. Burst Affinity also increases the Affinity between characters, which has numerous effects both in and out of battle that will only be covered sparingly in this review. The Party Gauge allows you to revive fallen party members (at a cost of 1 bar) and perform Chain Attacks (3 bars).</p>
<p>When a Chain Attack is initiated, the battle will freeze. Starting with the leader, the player chooses an Art for each character to perform, even if it was in cool-down previously. After all three characters attack, a prompt will sometimes appear (similar to Burst Affinity) that will allow additional attacks from the next character if passed. A strong Affinity between the two characters in the chain will make this occurrence more likely and easier to pass. As you can imagine, Chain Attacks are incredibly powerful, not only because you have the chance to attack enemies multiple times before they can act, but also because some are resistant to Break/Topple/Daze outside of a Chain Attack. Enemies perform Chain Attacks as well, albeit very rarely.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/xenoblade-chronicles/xenoblade-chronicles-dunbar-mechon-monado-fight.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/xenoblade-chronicles/xenoblade-chronicles-dunbar-mechon-monado-fight.jpg" alt="Xenoblade Chronicles Dunbar Mechon Monado Fight" title="Xenoblade Chronicles Dunbar Mechon Monado Fight" width="600" height="335" class="image" /></a></div>
<p>I recall Visions being one of the highlighted concepts during Xenoblade's promotion, so I'll explain those a bit as well. When fighting against stronger enemies, the battle will occasionally freeze and show you a glimpse of the future when an enemy is going to perform a particularly devastating attack (one usually resulting in a death). When battle resumes, a Vision Tag at the top of the screen will indicate the enemy, the attack, the target, the damage, and how much time is left before the attack hits. During this time, you can warn your allies by approaching them and pushing B, allowing you to choose their next move, and thereby attempt to prevent or delay the enemy attack, or reduce its effectiveness, by having access to everyone's abilities.</p>
<p>Again, these are just some of the core concepts of Xenoblade's battle system and some of what sets it apart. There is much, much more for players to discover and explore, not to mention Arts and Skills to experiment and build strategies with. Challenging and fun, Xenoblade's battles are the most gratifying I've played in an RPG in years, due in no small part to how involved they are, how much control you're given, and how much you're rewarded for skillful play. Even seemingly impossible fights are made possible for those with tactical prowess, whereas those without will find even the simpler enemies a nuisance. And yet despite the complexity, learning the intricacies of battle is made less daunting by being presented in brief tutorials gradually over the first half of the game, with an index to refer back to at any time.</p>
<p>Though the graphics aren't the most impressive we've seen on the Wii, Xenoblade is a visual treat. Monolith has created beautiful, massive environments for players to traverse, and if a few pixels and polygons were sacrificed to make it all work and as smoothly as it does, then it was well worth it. Simply standing on a cliff and looking down upon the world can make for some truly breathtaking scenes. Running through grassy valleys alongside herds of herbivores; moving through the crowded streets of a bustling metropolis; hiking through a bug-filled forest as a thunderstorm rolls in. All this does more than just paint a pretty picture<span style="background-color: #ffffff;">—</span>it pulls you into the world and makes you feel like you're interacting with a living, breathing ecosystem. The day/night cycle that loops once every hour contributes to this, but beyond providing a mere change in lighting. Different creatures and even <em>people</em> can be found elsewhere or not at all depending on the time of day. Fortunately, you can freely change the time whenever you like if you need to find a particular person or monster.</p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="/screenshots/xenoblade-chronicles/xenoblade-chronicles-armor-detail.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/xenoblade-chronicles/xenoblade-chronicles-armor-detail.jpg" alt="Xenoblade Chronicles Armor Detail" title="Xenoblade Chronicles Armor Detail" width="600" height="338" class="image" /></a></div>
<p>I also appreciate the work that was put into the weapon and equipment models, which feature tons of detail and very cool designs that are shown on the characters at all times whether in battle, walking around, or in a cut scene. A guilty pleasure of mine was playing virtual dress-up; I'd often catch myself trying different pieces on multiple characters just to see how it looked. Again, I'm particularly impressed with the attention to detail here.</p>
<p><a href="/screenshots/xenoblade-chronicles/xenoblade-chronicles-character-poster-art.jpg"><img src="/screenshots/xenoblade-chronicles/xenoblade-chronicles-character-poster-art-thumb.jpg" alt="Xenoblade Chronicles Character Poster art" title="Xenoblade Chronicles Character Poster art" width="320" height="512" style="float: right;" class="image" /></a>There are 480 quests to complete throughout the adventure, most of which are optional. Considering the sheer number of side quests, it's no surprise that most get repetitive after a while, but if you're a completionist, you'll revel in them; others may get fed up before long. But it's not so bad... Many are completed when trying to complete others, or before you're even assigned them if you like taking detours. You'll want to complete them too, as they're a significant source of EXP, Affinity, and even money for the first while. They also serve to show off the many enemies and locales Monolith worked so hard to put together, and who could blame them for that?</p>
<p>The music is pretty good, with every area/town having a day time and night time track. However, considering the amount of time that can be spent in each area (if completing side quests), the soundtrack could have done with a little more variety. Oddly, sound effect/music volume control is absent among the many customizable options in the game menu. This took me some getting used to; I usually only like the music at 50-75% the volume of sound effects/speech. Not a big deal, but I thought I'd mention it.</p>
<p>If you love/loved RPGs, you need to play this game. It's got the whole package: An over-the-top and entertaining plot, vast environments to explore, hundreds of quests to complete, thousands of items to find, and most important of all, an engaging and challenging battle system that never gets dull. I detailed only the very basics when it comes to gameplay, and haven't even gone into things like Aggro, Gems, Gem Crafting, Skills, Skill Links, and so on (this review is long enough). There is much more to do beyond the 480 quests as well, such as Collectables to find, Trophies to attain, and an entire town to rebuild. And those looking for a challenge will probably want to hunt down and kill the world's most powerful boss monsters after the fact. In short, this game isn't short; expect it to take hundreds of hours of your time should you wish to do everything.</p>
<p>To me, Xenoblade is an instant classic; one that should have come out on the Wii years ago. I will be coming back to this game in a few years time to experience it all again, much like I do with my other favorites, such as <a href="/nostalgia/chrono-trigger-15-anniversary-tribute"><strong>Chrono Trigger</strong></a> and <a href="/full-review/golden-sun-dark-dawn-jonathan-ramundi"><strong>Golden Sun</strong></a>. I can't think of a bigger compliment to give a game.</p>
<h3>Overall: 9</h3><!-- google_ad_section_end -->http://firsthour.net/full-review/xenoblade-chronicles#commentsxenobladexenobladeaction rpgrpgwii9Fri, 04 May 2012 13:00:00 +0000Jonathan Ramundi654 at http://firsthour.net